In a recent decision from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, a federal Judge pushed back against the common but abusive practice of “mootness fee” payoffs in public M&A deals. In the...more
In recent decisions, two separate California Superior Courts have upheld federal forum provisions (“FFP”) in governing corporate documents to preclude state court actions under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery’s 2016 decision in In re Trulia Stockholder Litigation sought to address the trend of meritless merger lawsuits flooding the Chancery Court. Following the decision, however, the battleground of...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Delaware Chancery Court’s October 1 In re Clovis decision marks the second time in 2019 that a Delaware court has permitted a Caremark duty-to-monitor derivative claim against directors—considered...more
11/1/2019
/ Caremark claim ,
Clinical Trials ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Derivative Suit ,
Directors ,
Duty to Monitor ,
Failure to Monitor ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Shareholder Litigation
Seyfarth Synopsis: Following Delaware’s lead in Trulia, an Illinois District Court judge refused to approve a mootness fee settlement as “worthless to the shareholders.” The judge noted that such settlements amounted to a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Delaware Supreme Court recently reversed the dismissal of a derivative complaint for failure to plead demand excusal because it found that certain directors of Zynga Inc. were not independent due to...more
12/29/2016
/ Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Independent Directors ,
Nasdaq ,
Pleading Standards ,
Reversal ,
Shareholder Litigation
Seyfarth Synopsis: On November 30, 2016, The Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed two derivative suits filed on behalf of the Bank of New York Mellon (“BNYM”). The companion memorandum and letter opinions reaffirm the heavy...more
12/8/2016
/ Bad Faith ,
Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Burden of Proof ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Executives ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Pleading Standards ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Special Committees